Improvement in mechanisms for shifting the shuttle-boxes of looms



2 Sheets--Sheet 1.

G. OROMPTON. Mechanism for Shifting the Shuttle-Boxes of Loom-s.

No 211,708. Patented Jan. 28,1879.

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UNITED STAT-Es PA NT GEORGE OROMPTON, OF WORCESTER, MASSACHUSETTS.

IMPROVEMENT IN MECHANISMS FOR SHIFTING THE SHUTTLE-BOXES 0F LOOMS.

- Specification forming part of Letters Patent N0. 211,708, datedJanuary 28, 1879; application filed May 1, 1878.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, GEORGE OnoMP'roN, of Worcester, in the county ofWorcester, State of Massachusetts, have invented a new and usefulMechanism for Shifting the Shuttle- Boxes of Looms 5 and that thefollowing, taken in connection with the drawings, is a full, clear, andexact description thereof.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a front elevation, showing my improvedlevers connected with a tier of four shuttle-boxes, the said figure alsoshowing mechanism for actuating the said levers, the full and dottedlines exhibiting the different positionsof the levers and .the manner inwhich a tier of four shuttle boxes or cells may be placed and held inproper position opposite the lay-race. Fig. 2 is a top view of Fig. l,with aportion of the levers and radius-bars broken away. Fig.3 .is adiagram, showing that the'levers will act in the same way when theirfulcra have a different relative arrangement from that shown in Figs. 1and 2. Fig. 4 is a similar diagram,

. showing the levers with athird arrangement .of their fulcra. Fig. 5 isalso a diagram of a modification of the apparatus, with the leverspivotedupon a fulcrum common to both of them; and Fig. 6 is a diagram ofanother arrangement still, showing how the invention may be worked whenthe points of attachment of the cord to the levers are not bothsubstantially in line with the pulley on the box-rod.

In the diagrams one lever is represented in one position by a heavyline, in its other position by a single dotted line; and the other leverin one position by two full lines, and in its other position by twodotted lines.

The letterR represents the line of the shuttle-race, and the figures 1 23 at the positions of the boxes when the levers are as shown in fulllines.

This invention consists in the combination of two levers, each mountedupon a fixed fulcrum, with a pulley and cord or chain, in such mannerthat four shuttle-boxes may be worked by the contrivance, the gist andcontrolling feature of the invention being that the points of the leversfor moving a tier of four shuttleboxes, and to which the ends of thecord are attached, move through different distances, as hereinaftershown and described, one lever having twice the range of motion of theother lever.

In all the drawings one of the levers is represented at a, the other atI) and proceeding to describe, first, the arrangement represented inFigs. 1 and 2, it will be seen-that these levers are each mounted upon afixed fulcrum, a, for lever a, and bl for lever Z), and that each leverhas pivoted upon one end of it a connecting-rod, M, for one lever, and bfor the other, and that these rods are at their other ends eachconnected to similar crank-pins 0, one for each connecting-rod, thesecrank-pins being each attached to one of the cogged wheels or disks a DAt the ends of the levers farthest from the connecting-rods each leveris attached to one end of the same cord-connector or chain 9, and thebight of this cord lies under a pulley, h, attached to the shuttle-boxrod 2', or so connected with the boxes that the axle of the pulley moveswith the boxes. This rod supports on its upper end the tier ofshuttle-boxes l 2 3 4. N ow, as the throws of the crank-pins are thesame, and the levers of the same length, or nearly so, but with fulcrain different parts of their length, it is clear that the ends of thelevers or points to which the cord is attached must move throughdifferent distances, as herein provided, for the effective shuttle-boxmoving part of one lever has twice the range of motion of the otherlever when their crankpins are moved through the same distance, which isin practice nearly or exactly from one dead-center to the other, from upto down, or vice versa, when the levers are arranged horizontally orthrough an arc of one hundred and eighty degrees, or, as usual inpractice, a little more than one hundred and eighty degrees.

In consequence of this range of motion of one lever being greater thanthat of the other, the comparison being made at the points of attachmentof the cord, these two levers will, by the aid of the cord and pulley,actuate a tier of four shuttle-boxes, and'move and hold any one of thefour that may be desired opposite the shuttle-race.

By referring to Fig. 1, it will be seen that when both levers have theirends where the cord is attached lifted, as in dotted lines, then FIE. 4

the lowestbox in the tier, or box No. 4, will be opposite the race; whenthe same end of a is up and that of 1) down, then box No. 3 will beReferring now to diagram Fig. 3, it will be seen that the same resultswill .be produced with a and b both up, with a up and 1) down. with I)up and a down, and with both at and I) down, although the fulcra aredifferently arranged, and although a and b when both up are in alinethat is, have their ends to which the cord is attached at the sameheight.

Referring to Fig. 4, an attentive considera tion of it will show thatthe same results will be effected by similar positions of the levers.

By comparison of Figs. 1, 3, and 4, it will also appear that the ends ofthe levers to which the cords are attached may have the arcs throughwhich they oscillate in different relative positions. For instance, thearc of oscillation of I) is central with that of a in Fig.

1, while in Fig. 3 the arcs have the same upper termination and in Fig.dthe arcs overlap each other.

In Fig. 5 the levers have a common fulcrum, or a fulcrum common to bot-hlevers, and they will be so connected with their cranks by theconnecting-rods (although this is not essential,) that the arcs throughwhich the ends to which the cords are attached oscillate, or have thesame relative position as in Figs 1 and 2.

When the levers have a common fulcrum, and are of the same length, thenthe cranks may have different lengths of throw, if it be desired to havethe connecting rods substantially in a line, as in Fig. 1; but thecranks may have the same length of throw if one connecting-rod beconnected to lever b at m, and the other to lever a at 00. But in bothof these arrangements the relative movements of the shuttle-box movingpart of said levers, hereinbefore stated, must be observed.

In Fig. 6 the levers have a fulcrum common to both of them 5 but thepoints of attachment of the cord are at different distances from thiscommon fulcrum,and two pulleys, c d, w ith stationary axes secured tothe side of the loomframe, are introduced in order to give the properdirection to the chain or cord g before it passes under the pulley h,which is the necessary pulley of my combination. These pulleys c d aremere changers of direction of motion.

Inthis arrangement of the parts constituting my invention box No. 4.will be opposite the racewhen the end of I) to which the chain isattached is down and the same end of cup. No. 3 box will be opposite therace when the same ends of a and b are both up. No.- 2 box will beopposite the race when the same ends of a and b are both down, and No. 1box will be opposite the race when the same end of b is up and that of adown.

In all of these arrangements the cranks may both have the same throw, orhave difi'erent throws, so long as the ends of the leversor the pointsor localities thereon to which the ends of the cord are attached movethrough different distances, substantially as represented in thediagrams, and the cranks may be capable only of rotation or oscillationon fixed centers, or may be mounted on movable centers, as in theKnowles loom; and these cranks are to be caused to move through arcs ofone hundred and eighty dgrees, or thereabout, by any known mechanicalmeans, under the direction of a pattern barrel or chain, in various wayswell known in looms, or described in patents relating to box motions.

On Sheet 1 of the drawings 1 have shown two pinions having teethextended partially around them, and mounted upona rotating shaft, fwhich may be operated d rectly from the main cross-shaft of the loom.This shaft f has a bevel-pinion, f which is to mesh with a bevel-pinion,on shaft f, provided with bevel-pinion f to engage a bevel-pinion, f, ona shaft, f, having at its outer end two partially -toothed wheels, 7substantlally the same as pinions f, but rotating inopposite d rections,as shown by the arrows. The axes of the cogged wheels a D which carrythe crank-pins, will or may be supported at the lower ends of arms m,one for each wheel, the arms being pivoted at m and acted upon byrollers or protuberances of the pattern-surface m, a spring, at,connected with the said arms also co-operating with the pattern-surfaceto place either wheel a? or D3 in engagement with either pinion f or fbutin all cases the points of the levers to which the ends of the cordare attached must be moved by actuating mechanism through differentdistances, substanv tially as represented in the diagrams,

I am aware that two levers, each on a fixed fulcrum, and combined with acord and pulley, have been used to work a tier of three shuttle-boxes,the ends of the levers to which the ends of the cord were attachedhaving h instance the same range of apparatus being capable ofshuttle-boxes and no more,

motion,'and the k n hre as in United States Letters Patent no; 37,760;and 1' a also aware that a tier of-four shuttle-boxeshas been worked bymeans of a compound leverthat is to say, a lever mounted on a shiftingor movable fulcrum, as in Wymans patent, dated October 29, 1867 No.70,309, without the aid of a chain and pulley; but, although it has beena desideratum to work four boxes by means of two levers on fixed fulcraand a chain and pulley, I have known of no such contrivance prior to my.invention, and that invention is based upon the discovery that when thelevers have a different range of mo,- tion from each other, one twicethe range of motion of the other at the points of attachment of the endsof the cord, then the combination with them of a pulley and cord willenable said levers to work four boxes.

I claim as my invention- 1. In a mechanism for operating theshuttleboxes of looms, two cranks and connectingrods, and two levers onfixed fulcra connected therewith, one having twice the range of motionof the other, combined with a shuttle-box rod and ,a pulley, and aconnection, substantially such as described, between the two levers andthe pulley of the box-rod, whereby, by the unequal movement of the saidtwo 1evers, any box of the tier of four boxes may be placed in operativeposition with relation to the raceway of the loom, substantially asdescribed.

2. In a shuttle-box shifting mechanism for looms, two levers havingfixed but different fulcra, as described, to thereby make levers withends of different lengths, and mechanism to impart to one lever twicethe range of motion imparted to the other lever, combined with a pulley,a box-rod, a tier of four shuttle-boxes, and a connection, such asdescribed, between the ends of the levers and the pulley, whereby anyone of the boxes of the tier'of four boxes may be placed in operativeposition, substantially as set forth.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in thepresence of two subscribing witnesses.

GEO. OROMPTON. Witnesses:

J. B. SYME, J. A. WARE.

